Podcast: After Murphy/Darvish news, examining Cubs roster moving into September and October

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With Tuesday’s news that the Cubs acquired Daniel Murphy and will be without Yu Darvish’s services for the remainder of the season, how does that affect the roster moving into the final month of the season? How much will the Cubs be able to count on Kris Bryant? How does Murphy fit in the picture for the Cubs’ potential playoff roster and lineup? Will Darvish even be ready to go in 2019?

Kelly Crull, Luke Stuckmeyer and Tony Andracki answer these questions and more on the latest CubsTalk Podcast, plus a special bonus take on Cole Hamels’ future with the club.

Check out the entire podcast here:

There are still more than five weeks left to play in the regular season and many questions to be answered, but as I touched on in the podcast — the Cubs' playoff lineup and roster is coming into focus a bit in my mind. We can now count Darvish out, which helps finalize the pitching staff. And we can add Murphy in, along with being able to more confidently pencil in Bryant after a successful round of BP (not that there was ever much doubt he'd return).

At the moment, here's my Cubs' 25-man postseason roster:

Rotation

Cole Hamels
Kyle Hendricks
Jon Lester
Jose Quintana

Bullpen

Brandon Morrow
Carl Edwards Jr.
Pedro Strop
Steve Cishek
Jesse Chavez
Justin Wilson
Mike Montgomery
Brandon Kintzler

Catchers

Willson Contreras
Victor Caratini

Infield

Anthony Rizzo
Kris Bryant
Javy Baez
Daniel Murphy
Addison Russell
Tommy La Stella

Outfield

Jason Heyward
Kyle Schwarber
Ben Zobrist
Albert Almora Jr.
Ian Happ

And here's my lineup for Game 1 of the postseason if the Cubs face a right-handed pitcher:

1. Daniel Murphy - 2B
2. Kris Bryant - 3B
3. Anthony Rizzo - 1B
4. Javy Baez - SS
5. Ben Zobrist - RF
6. Jason Heyward - CF
7. Willson Contreras - C
8. Kyle Schwarber - LF
9. Cole Hamels - P

Rationale: If we're doing this as of the moment, Hamels is the clear choice to draw the opening start. Schwarber is kind of a funny choice for the No. 8 spot, I'll admit, but Baez has proven you can drive in runs from that spot and we know he won't expand the zone too much even if he's being pitched around with the pitcher on deck.

Also, this gives the Cubs a perfect balance of left-right hitters in the lineup (plus Zobrist's switch-hitting capability), which is something Joe Maddon absolutely loves because it makes managing against difficult in terms of choosing relievers with pronounced splits.

Against a right-handed pitcher, Murphy and Zobrist are the best options on the roster to lead off. Also at the moment, Russell and Almora have no business starting against right-handed pitchers, but that could obviously change in the coming weeks.

Here are my thoughts for a Game 1 lineup if the Cubs faced a left-handed pitcher:

1. Albert Almora Jr. - CF
2. Kris Bryant - 3B
3. Anthony Rizzo - 1B
4. Javy Baez - 2B
5. Ben Zobrist - LF
6. Jason Heyward - RF
7. Willson Contreras - C
8. Addison Russell - SS
9. Cole Hamels - P

Rationale: Almora and Russell are no-brainers to start against left-handed pitchers, while Murphy heads to the bench with his .622 OPS against southpaws. Still, that's a heck of a bat to bring off the bench — a guy with a .323 average and 1.020 OPS in 24 postseason games. 

Heyward is a big question mark here, too. He's actually hitting better vs. lefties (.792 OPS) than righties (.744) this season, but he's also had just one truly good month in his resurgent season. Since posting an .873 OPS in June, he has since posted a .674 OPS in 43 games entering play Wednesday.

Right now, there's not much room for Happ in a playoff lineup, just like last fall. But what a weapon to have off the bench — a switch-hitter who could change the game with one swing of the bat or work a walk and pass the baton to the next man up. Plus, given his positional versatility, is a perfect double-switch candidate.

All this without David Bote on the roster, which would've seemed crazy a week ago. So again, the disclaimer that a lot can change in the next five weeks.

The presence of Murphy may also mean that La Stella isn't as valuable to this team as once thought. Still considered one of the game's best pinch-hitters, La Stella has not provided much pop this season — he has only 5 extra-base hits all year (all doubles) and just 3 since April 6.

With Murphy filling the role of a left-handed hitting infielder, maybe the Cubs opt for Bote over La Stella on the postseason roster. Or they could choose another pitcher like Tyler Chatwood, Randy Rosario or Jorge De La Rosa to provide more depth to the bullpen.

We'll see where the next five-plus weeks takes the team.

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